Friday, 16 September 2016

Earlier this month, I interviewed Eryk Bujalski, Youth Ambassador of the Warsaw Poland Pavilion at this year's Folklorama. Eryk was one of the most well-liked Ambassadors and attended nearly every pavilion in the festival's first week. His position as an Ambassador and extensive experience at Folklorama gave him a unique and in-depth perspective on the festival.

Eryk and I at the Serbian Pavilion.

When did you first participate in Folklorama?

I first participated in Folklorama eight years ago when I started dancing with the Polish Folk Dance Ensemble S.P.K. Iskry. I began to dance with this group because my parents really wanted me and my siblings to carry on and continue our Polish culture.

What were your two favourite pavilions you visited during the first week?

My two favourite pavilions that I visited were the Israel Pavilion and the Romanian Pavilion. I really enjoyed the Romanian Pavilion because of the amount of young adults they had representing their culture. They had a giant group of young adults performing in their show and they had a couple of modern songs that they danced to, which I thought was great because they had traditional dances as well as some fun modern dances.

Young performers at the Romanian Pavilion. (Credit: Romanian Pavilion)

I really liked the Israel Pavilion because the show was so live. Every song that they performed had a upbeat rhythm that kept the room live. The food at the pavilion was great. Their performers put on a great show!

What was the best part of being an Ambassador?

The best experience of being an Ambassador for me was the experience of going to a extensive amount of pavilions and seeing both similar and different cultures from all around the world, as well as representing my own culture for the second week of the festival.

What was your favourite food from Folklorama?

My favourite food from Folklorama were naleśniki, the crepesat the Warsaw Poland Pavilion. I chose naleśniki because my mom has always made them since I was young and because they are so delicious. They are my favourite Polish dessert.

What is your favourite Polish expression?

My favourite Polish expression is "dobry Polak po szkodzie". This is my favourite Polish expression because my parents told me this saying when I was young and ever since that day, this saying has always stayed in my head. This saying means that you learn after your mistakes and it makes you a better person and Polak. I go by this saying every day and it helps me learn from every mistake.